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THOMAS R. HICKS. 0F NEW BRI'IAIN, CONNECTICUT;

Letters Patent' No. 63,536, dated pril Q, 1867.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Be it known that THOMAS R. IIICKS, of New Britain, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, has invented certain new and useful improvements in Vent-Plugs, which he verily believes has not been known o'r used prior to llisapplication for a patent, and, to enable others skilled in the ert to make and use the same, will procee/dto"describe by referring to theidrawings, in which the same letters indicate like parts in each of the figures.

The n'ziture oi' this improvement will be understood from the specification and drawings.

The object desired to be attained thereby is toprovide a goed, ellieient vent-plug for vessels designed for holding fermenting liquors, and to render them air-tight, and at the saine time to prevent them from bursting; inother words, to provide avent-plug specially adapted to give' relief under pressure, 55e. In the accompanying drawings- Figure l is'an outside view.

Figure 2 is a sectional side View.

Figure 3 is a side View of a modification thereof.

Figure il is a sectional side view of the same.

In lgs. 1 and 2 a is a stopper, which is driven or screwed into a vessel by means of a nut formation, b. Through this plug is i'ornied an orifice, in 'the upper end olvwhich is iitted a thumb-screw, c. Inside ofthe inner end of this thumb-screw is fitted a valro-steni, el. Inside oi' this thumb-screw, and around the valve-stem, is arranged a spring, e, which' acts tol depress the valve g down upon the vulve-seat h. z'is a vent-hole. Now, when the pressure from the inside is greater than that oi' the spring e upon the valve g it (the valve) will be lifted thereby, and the gases, or whatever causes the internal pressure, are allowed to escape until checked by the resistance of the spring; valve; and Whenever it mayv be desirable to increase or diminish the pressure of the valve it is only necessary to turn the thumb-screw in or cutof the plug a. In figs. 3 ande a chamber isformed from the upper end of the plug down through the centre and near to the bottom, then a smaller hole is formed through the end thereof. n is a press-rod, haring a pad, n. This l is ina-de smaller just below the under side of the pad, and extends through the lower end of the plug., und has a valve, o, secured to its outer end, which is designed to bear against the end of the plug by the. action oi` the spring e, which is placed upon 'tue spindle of the press-rod, one end oi' which bea-rs against a shoulder on the rod, and the other against the lower end of the plug-chamber to hold the vulve o firmly against its seat on the lower cr outer end of the plug. This is particularly adapted and designed for drawing liquore which are kept in air-tightvessels, in the use of which, by sirnply opening the faucet through which the liquor is drawn, and at the saine tiue press down the pad uf of the plug, ,the liquor will freely iiow therefrom; and, when the faucet is Vclosed and the hand removed from the plug, the vessel again becomes air-tight. Thus I ain enabled to produce a goed, cheap, and eliicient vent-plug for all air-tight vessels.

I believe I have thus shown. the nature, construction, operation, and advantage to be derived therefrom, so as to enable others skilled-in the art to make and use the same therefrom.

What I claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As a new article of manufacture, a spring-pressure vent-plug, constructed substantially as and for the purpose described. v

THOMAS R. HICKS. [L 5.]

Witnesses:

Mnnnrr'r Bitonson,

S. RooKWELL. 

